Looking Into the Crystal Ball: 2006 NBA Draft Re-Draft

Welcome to Madison Square Garden for the 2011 NBA Draft! A mere 5 years after winning an NBA title, the Miami Heat are on the clock for the first pick in the draft. The Heat leapfrogged the Philadelphia 76ers, Indiana Pacers, Houston Rockets, and Seattle Supersonics for the top pick. They're definetly looking to put some talent around Dwayne Wade, who has grown disgruntled with Miami's lack of direction the past 5 years.

But we're not here to discuss the 2011 NBA Draft. Instead, we're going to take a look at the draft from Miami's championship season: 2006. While the 2007 and 2008 drafts have yielded superstars such as Chicago's Greg Oden, Philadelphia's O.J. Mayo, Seattle's Kevin Durant, and Charlotte's Al Hortford, the 2006 draft is significantly lacking on star power. There have only been two all-star appearances by the 2006 draft class. If teams were allowed to have a do-over, here's what the lottery would have looked like.

1. Toronto-Renaldo Balkman
Just kidding. That joke was too easy.

Now that I've got your attention...

1. Toronto-Randy Foye
It was a difficult call for the top spot between Foye and Bargnani, but we probably need to give Foye the nod here. Yes, Bargnani has emerged as one of the superstars in this game and has led the Raptors to consecutive Eastern Conference Finals appearances against the Cavaliers and the Bulls. But if we're looking over the course of 5 years, Foye has been the more consistent player. He won the 2006 Rookie of the Year, averaging 18 points and 6 assists a game. He upped those numbers to 20 and 7 in 2007, 22 and 8 in 2008, then had his best season in 2009, averaging 28 points and 7 assists per game. However, following the 2009 season, the Timberwolves dealt aging superstar Kevin Garnett to the Bulls for Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas, and a draft pick. Foye's numbers fell in 2010 to 20 and 6 as he suffered a difficult leg injury. He rebounded to post 24 and 6 in 2011, but the Timberwolves have fallen flat on their faces. Foye has unfairly been subjected to harsh criticism for not raising the level of his teammates, but his talent puts him right up among the best guards in basketball.

2. Chicago-Andrea Bargnani
Bargnani was the #1 overall selection in 2006, and with it came high expectations. The youngster started slowly in his career. He barely played his first year, then struggled again out of the gate during his second year in 2008. Toronto fans were furious. They were calling for Bargnani to be traded for some backcourt help. But halfway through his second season, Bargnani found the opportunity he needed. Starting power forward Kris Humphries broke his arm in a horrific fall off a slam dunk, and Bargnani was inserted into the starting lineup. He closed 2008 strong, averaging 18 points and 8 rebounds while shooting 42 percent from three point range in the last 25 games. In 2009, Bargnani was poised to breakout, but struggled through a nagging groin injury and played in only 52 games. Throughout the entire time, GM Bryan Colangelo stayed committed to the #1 pick even through harsh criticism by fans and the media. One site, Hoopsaddict.com, called for Colangelo to be "tarred and feathered" for drafting Bargnani over LaMarcus Aldridge in the draft. But in 2010, Bargnani truely blossomed as a player. He showed off his incredible versatility all season and helped Toronto make a surprising run to the Eastern Conference Finals. In 2011, the Raptors were poised for a title, with a front line of Charlie Villanueva, Chris Bosh, and Bargnani. Bargnani did his part, averaging 26 points, 10 rebounds, and a robust 43 percent from three. But the Raptors floundered, losing in the first round to 7th seeded Boston, led by aging stars Allen Iverson and Paul Pierce. Still, Bargnani has proven that he belongs in this league.

3. Charlotte-Marcus Williams
After this, the draft falls off significantly. Williams is the third pick here despite only starting for New Jersey the last three years. After contributing as a bench player behind Jason Kidd for his first two years, the Nets handed Williams the car keys and told him to go to work. He struggled mightly in his first season, as the Nets missed the playoffs. Things didn't look like they were going to get better after the Nets swapped Vince Carter to the Golden State Warriors for Ike Diogu, Monta Ellis, and a second round pick. 2010 was not a good year for the Nets, as Williams struggled out of the gate with the newcomers. But after finishing 2010 with 8 straight victories, the Nets emerged as one of the surprise teams of 2011. Williams finally blossomed, finishing the year averaging 14 points and 10 assists. In the playoffs, the Nets pushed the mighty Chicago Bulls to the brink in the Eastern Conference semifinals before falling. Williams thoroughly outplayed his counterpart Kirk Hinrich and gave the Nets a chance to win despite Greg Oden's dominance.

4. Portland-Ronnie Brewer
Brewer gets the nod over Brandon Roy because he's had a higher PER the past two seasons than the Trailblazers guard. He's started from Day 1 in Utah and has become a solid player in the backcourt for the Jazz. He doesn't dazzle, but averages a cool 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists for Utah. He also is the Jazz best perimeter defender, having shut down the top threats in the Western Conference for the past 5 years.

5. Atlanta-Brandon Roy
Roy has been a solid player for Portland, but never a superstar. He averaged 21 points a game in the 2007 season, but has been going downhill ever since. This past season, Roy suffered a leg injury and saw replacement Martell Webster light up the scoreboard, both in the regular season and in a first-round playoff loss. This leaves his starting spot in jeopardy and his status with the Trailblazers in question. The Trailblazers are putting him up on the market this offseason. Right now, the Raptors look like the frontrunner, and would be getting a guy that could finally put them over the top in the Eastern Conference.

6. Minnesota-Mike Gansey
Gansey is a great story. Being overlooked by all 29 NBA teams that participated in the NBA draft didn't phase the West Virginia standout. He signed a free agent contract with the Orlando Magic and made the team out of training camp. Then, after first-round draft pick J.J. Redick suffered a career threatening injury driving a motorcycle while under the influence of alcohol, Gansey saw his role expanded in 2008 as the Magic made a run at the postseason, but still remained a bench player. That all changed in 2009, as Gansey won the starting job in the pre-season and was a key shooter and defender on Orlando's best team since the Shaquille O'Neal era. 2010 was another good year for Gansey, but he struggled with a finger injury in 2011. The Magic are hoping he can bounce back with another solid year next season.

7. Boston-LaMarcus Aldridge
Aldridge has been a remarkably consistent, but unspectacular big man for the Trailblazers over the last 5 years. His best season was in 2009, as he averaged 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game. Portland has a multitude of big men in Aldridge, Joakim Noah, Alexander Johnson, and Joel Freeland, and while none are superstars, they all mix effectively. But there's no Toronto fan who would want Aldridge over Bargnani right now.

8. Houston-Kyle Lowry
Lowry has had an interesting career. He struggled in his first two seasons in Memphis, as he was forced to play starter minutes when he wasn't quite ready. After being traded to Atlanta for Josh Childress, Lowry improved and has been a decent NBA starter the last three years. He averages only 8 points a game, but contributes with 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and great open-court ability. He has become a perfect fit in Atlanta playing alongside athletes such as Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, and Joe Johnson.

9. Golden State-Shannon Brown
Brown didn't play much in 2007, but suddenly found himself thrust into the starting spot after Larry Hughes suffered a career-ending injury on the last game of the 2008 season. In the last two years, Brown has emerged as a solid counterpart to LeBron James. He started in 2009, but settled into being a scoring assasin off the bench after the Cavaliers' acquisition of Ray Allen from Seattle. Brown was a key player on Cleveland's 2009 championship team, then won the sixth man award in 2011 for the Cavaliers, averaging 13 points a game off the bench.

10. Seattle-Adam Morrison
Morrison has had an unspectacular NBA career. He started off as the poster boy for Charlotte's renaissance, but struggled to meet high expectations. It wasn't that Morrison was a bad player, but he was nothing spectacular. Eventually, he was replaced in the starting lineup by 2008 draft pick Thaddeus Young, and dealt to the Los Angeles Clippers. He's established himself as a solid bench man for the Clippers, but never was the superstar everyone expected him to be.

11. Orlando-Rudy Gay
Gay also has not become the superstar he could have become. He spent some time in Memphis' starting lineup over his first 4 seasons, but never became more than a decent complimentary player. After his fourth season, the Grizzlies decided to let him go, and he was signed by the Phoenix Suns. In Phoenix, Gay was able to concentrate on running the floor and shooting three-pointers. He ended up winning the 2011 Sixth Man award after averaging 15 points off the bench under the direction of Suns point guard Leandro Barbosa. But he never has become the superstar everyone expected.

12. New Orleans-Jordan Farmar
This is where the wheels really start to come off with this draft. Farmar is a decent backup point guard, but nothing more. He's found a home in Los Angeles behind Kobe Bryant and Dominic James in the backcourt. He outplayed free agent Marcus Banks, but wasn't quite good enough to break into the starting lineup. A nice backup, but nothing more.

13. Philadelphia-Shelden Williams
If you looked at the statistics, Shelden Williams doesn't belong in this league. But don't tell that to the Chicago Bulls. Chicago traded away Thabo Sefolosha to the Hawks for Williams and have not regretted it. Williams may be one of Chicago's key players despite averaging only 4 points a game. He comes in for 15 minutes every game to spell Kevin Garnett and Greg Oden and provides great rebounding, shot blocking, and defense. His block on Chris Paul potential game-tying layup in the 2010 finals sealed the Bulls' first NBA title since Michael Jordan was patroling the wing.

14. Utah-Bobby Jones
Jones gets the nod here over Olesiky Pecherov, Rodney Carney, and Thabo Sefolosha. Jones is the modern day Bruce Bowen. Originally drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves, he has bounced all over the place. He's made unsuccessful stops in Philadelphia, Orlando, Washington, Sacramento, and Denver. Nobody even blinked an eye when the Dallas Mavericks signed Jones to a minimum contract following the 2009 season. But Jones has become an instrumental player for the Mavericks. After struggling for three years after making it so close in 2006, it was Jones, the most unlikely of players, that helped to bring Dallas back. He earned a spot in the starting lineup and provided incredible defensive toughness for Dallas against top wingmen such as Denver's Carmelo Anthony, Houston's Tracy McGrady, LA's Kobe Bryant, Memphis' Marcus Williams (Arizona), and Seattle's O.J. Mayo. In 2011, Jones' defense on Cleveland superstar LeBron James keyed the Mavericks to a shocking 5 game upset of the heavily favored Cavaliers in the 2011 NBA Finals. Right now, he's the early favorite for the 2012 defensive player of the year.


Gucci's Draft Grades [WBRS Sports Blog]
Lots and Lots of Thoughts [Complete Sports]
FreeDrafto as it Happened [Free Darko]